Writings

It started with the tags. It always started with the tags.

Tumblr had set their phone to notify them whenever the tag #ao3 started trending. It was usually their biggest warning.

Sometimes it was nothing. They’d call their beloved, or speedwalk to the library a block down from their cozy home, and push through the doors to find them sorting books among the aisles of bookmarks, recently revamped for organization. Or answer the phone with a simple “hello, love.” “Hi. You alright?” “…yes? I’m feeling fine. Is everything alright?”

They understood Tumblr’s concern, of course. Their condition was frequent, and no matter how much time passed- god, it had been a whole two years, now- they still couldn’t forget the worst time, the damn DDoS attack that had left Ao3 bedridden, Tumblr waiting by their side, reading to them from some of their favorite collections. Tumblr always seemed to stumble over the words- they were never great with literacy- even if Ao3 always assured them they thought it was adorable, when they tried, helping out in their library and bringing over new volumes.

Ao3 assured them those days were gone; they’d taken safety measures, and now they had the extra support of their loving partner. But Tumblr couldn’t help but worry when they saw that hastag glowing with their name.

Tumblr was putting something together for them at the kitchen table, a little moodboard of cozy library pictures that their friend Pintrest helped select- and yess, their was a loss.jpg joke hidden in the organized photos, they could never resist- when their phone buzzed. And when they picked up their phone, they felt their stomach sink.

Yes, it could be nothing. It could be. But Ao3 had been looking kind of pale that morning, and had they remembered to take their medicine? They’d been in a rush to get to work, saying something about bot comments, and they’d barely taken the time to put on that adorable sweater vest of theirs before hurrying out the door.

Tumblr jumped up and grabbed their jacket, hearing the jumble of rainbow pride and fandom pins clinking as they threw it on, stepping out into the cool air and jogging up the street.

It could be nothing. It could be nothing.

Tumblr nearly threw open the library doors, beelining straight towards the main desk, where Wattpad, Ao3’s coworker, glowed in their usual tacky orange hat. They glanced up and grinned at Tumblr.

“Hey, Tumblr. Looking for a certain y/n?”

“What?” Tumblr leaned over the counter. “If you mean Ao3, yeah. Have you seen them?”

“They were in the Sickfic section, last I saw.”

Tumblr could practically hear the ironic foreshadowing in their words, and they didn’t like it. They barely bothered with thanks as they turned, following the signs to the expansive maze of Whump, Sick Character, and Hurt/Comfort.

“Ao3?” They called softly as they traversed the aisles, knowing that Ao3 would scold them about being too loud in the library, sick or not.

For a moment, there was silence. Then a soft groan, over near the Caretaking shelf.

“Ao3-!” Tumblr ran and dropped to their knees as soon as they saw their partner, slumped against a shelf, with a box tagged Domestic Fluff half-sorted and shelved beside them. “Oh, hon…”

As they reached up and gently felt Ao3’s forehead, their lover leaned into the touch with a shaky sigh. “Hi…”

“Hi, baby.” Tumblr leaned a bit closer, pulling Ao3 from the shelf to their shoulder. “Server strain?”

Ao3 nodded weakly, seeming dizzy at even the small motion. “Server strain…”

Tumblr slid their arms around their legs and back, hoisting them up into the air. “Alright, you know what that means. Home, bedrest, some good old-fashioned maintenance. How’s that sound, love?”

Ao3 leaned their head against Tumblr’s shoulder, their breathing coming in soft huffs. “Sounds great…”

Tumblr hummed softly at the lack of their usual eloquence, but didn’t comment; they knew their darling would be back to dreaming up 2.5k words of sappy poetry an hour soon, with a bit of TLC. Until then, Tumblr was happy to fill the silence for them.

“I wonder if any of these actually have any good recipes,” they murmured, their gaze wandering over a few works tagged ‘Soup’. “What do you think, baby?”

“Mmnghh,” Ao3 groaned, burying their face into Tumblr’s chest. “Prefer yours.”

Tumblr smiled at their little mumble. “Mine, huh? Good to know.”

As they carried their dearest out of the aisle, down the long path of the library, they nodded to Wattpad, who glanced up from a new and vaguely-titled shipment. “Hey, uh, Ao3, I don’t know how to tag this-”

They cut themselves off to frown worriedly at the sight of Ao3 being carried out.

“Just a little tired,” Tumblr assured them, before they even had the chance to question. “They’re gonna be fine, back on their feet in a bit. You can probably ask Net about those. Can you clock Ao3 out?”

Wattpad closed their mouth slowly and nodded, watching silently as the couple left the library.

Ao3 shivered in the cool wind, but the walk home was mercifully short, and it was no time at all before Tumblr was pulling off their shoes and work clothes, swapping it out for a comfy sweater and fuzzy socks, and gently pushing them back against the pillows.

“How’re you feeling, love?” Tumblr hummed, tucking them in with a kiss on the forehead. Beneath them, Ao3 sighed, sinking into the pillows.

“Tired,” they mumbled, eyes half-open as they watched Tumblr tidy up their messy bedside table, setting aside their glasses and gathering some empty mugs and water bottles.

“Well, try not to fall asleep before I get back with the medicine, alright?”

Ao3 managed a little nod, sighing as they settled into the blanket nest. And when Tumblr returned, their eyes were still open (though barely), staring at the ceiling of the bedroom.

“Kudos to you, babe,” Tumblr hummed, holding water and painkillers. “I didn’t think you’d make it.”

Ao3 gave them a tired smile, but offered no reply as Tumblr guided them through taking the pills and the water. But when it was done, Ao3 reached up, their hand snagging on the edge of their partner’s sweater.

“Cuddles?” They murmured, bleary eyes shining softly in the hopes of the fluff they were so passionate was the best. Tumblr couldn’t deny them, not now, not yesterday, not in a million years.

Tumblr smiled and laid down with them, sliding under the covers, and drawing them closer. Ao3 snuggled into their chest, a weak smile touching their lips.

“Is that good, my dearest Archive?” Tumblr murmured in their ear, using part of their first name instead of their usual nickname, as they stroked Ao3’s hair up and down, fluffing it up adorably. They got no response, except a soft, wheezy snore.

”I guess so.”

Tumblr stirred, their eyes squinting at the wall. 

Wha…

With an almighty yawn, they opened their eyes the rest of the way and propped themselves up on their elbows. 

“…nhm?”

Ao3 was hunched over that little notebook that they always kept on their bedside table, the small lamp lit,  scribbling with a furious energy that made Tumblr smile a little. I guess they’re feeling a little better, but…

Tumblr rolled over and gently tugged on the blankets drawing up to Ao3’s bent knees. “Love…it’s one in the morning.”

Ao3 took a moment before nodding absently, still writing down who knows what. “I know, I’m sorry, hellie…but I just figured out how to fix that plot hole, I’ll be done in a minute…”

Tumblr snorted softly at the shortened nickname for hellsite, letting their arm drop. “You and your midnight frenzies. You’re worse then me.”

“Shhh.”  Tumblr backed off with a weary grin, understanding the fear of getting distracted and loosing a vital train of thought, so they let them jot down what they needed to. They only interrupted again after a few minutes when their pace started slowing, and they briefly flexed their writing hand. 

“You got everything, darling?”

Ao3 hesitated, before shaking their head. “N-no…”

“You need to rest, Arch. You pushed yourself too hard today, I can still see how shaky your hands are.” Tumblr gently poked their arm.

“B-but-” Their breathing hitched as they stumbled over a yawn, grip squeezing stubbornly on their pencil even as their hand trembled. Tumblr scooted closer to see the notebook page; Ao3’s usual tidy font of handwriting was almost illegible, the loops drowsy and wild. And what they did make out made even less sense.  “Come on. You can keep writing in the morning.” Tumblr sat up beside them and slowly extracted the worn notebook from their hands.

“But the- I don’t want to forget anything,” Ao3 pouted. “Oh, oh! What about…” they slumped against Tumblr’s shoulder, reaching for the pencil and missing entirely, instead bumping their hand into Tumblr’s chest, because their eyes were now drifting closed. “H-how long would it take for hemlock poisoning to kill someone?”

“What?” Tumblr chuckled, lifting a hand to gently stroke through their beloved’s bedhead. “I don’t know…here, I’ll write it down, and we can text Google in the morning and ask, okay?”

Ao3 snorted into Tumblr’s shoulder, a smile that looked somewhat out of it crossing their lips. “They’re gonna think we’re so fucking weird…”

Tumblr hummed, writing the question down below Ao3’s scrawling. “Oh, you know they don’t care when you say it’s for research. They adore you.”

Their sleepy partner leaned even more into their lap. “Nghhh…yea…and…and how long does…eghh, what sports did they have in Ancient Greece? Running, and…uh…”

”Disc throwing,” Tumblr supplied, writing down that question beneath the first. “Lovely, I want to read whatever this is when you’re done.” 

Ao3 yawned again, practically sprawled sideways across Tumblr’s lap by now. “Uh-huh…” 

Tumblr looked down at them, smiling at the sight of them fighting against sleep. “Any more questions for the morning?” They asked softly. 

Ao3 searched their brains for a moment, and slowly shook their head. 

“Okay…” Tumblr leaned over and placed the notebook and pencil on Ao3’s bedside table, having to stretch to turn off the lamp, and darkness covered the room once more.  Tumblr laid down, their hand resuming stroking Ao3’s hair. “I’m glad to see you’re feeling better, though,” they murmured to their lover in the quiet of the room.

Ao3 barely hummed this time, burying their face in Tumblr’s chest. Their breathing was just about in sync, and Tumblr let their eyes drift closed, relishing the feeling.

“…wait..”

“Mmm..?”

“Where do you get hemlock from..? Especially in poison form…”

Tumblr sighed, and rolled back over to grab the notebook again.

"Did you just say you love me?"

"What? No!"

"So what if I did?"

"I said it and I meant it."

"Only if you say it back."

"Someone had to say it."

"I'm not going to say it again."

"You must have misheard me."

"I couldn't hold it in any longer."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"It's probably not what you wanted to hear."

All the Dialogue Responses can be found here.